Rene reclined back on the grass. He took a piece of fruit he more or less recognised from the gardens and orchards of the peasants he had seen along his old patrol route. It was about the size of his clenched fist, bright red and covered with red tendrils that gave it a spikey aspect. None of the nearby Syshin were eating them so he took his best guess and bit into the fruit. The husk cracked beneath his teeth to give way to a translucent white flesh that was both tart and sweet in equal measure. Removing it from his mouth he peeled the thing and ate it, discovering a hard stone pit as he got to the center. It was always a good idea to take on calories when you could, particularly when you didn’t know when your next meal would be.

He wiped his hand on the grass and then reached up to take Solae’s smaller hand in his own, his eyes were sober and serious as he considered what she was saying. She was worried that he would get hurt because of her? Truely, Solae was not like the other noblewomen he had met. Cultured, erudite and beautiful they might be, but concern for others would have been an alien concept to them. He felt something in his chest he hadn’t in a long time, something that pained and thrilled him in equal parts.

“I got hurt,” he agreed, flexing his arm to reveal the bandage Lasha had placed over one of the vine burns he had picked up. His leg throbbed a little when he was thinking about it but truthfully he had been hurt worse in training and been expected to report the next day.

“But it wasn’t because of you,” he disagreed, looking directly into her eyes and trying to avoid being hypnotized by her lovely face.

“I could say it was my duty or whatever, which it is but truthfully I would have done the same thing for anyone who would  risk their life to help these people,” he made a broad gesture to the Syshin as they feasted. Like most of the upper classes he had been bred to have a healthy suspicion of aliens but his fall from grace had provided him with educational opportunities his peers didn’t have. Or perhaps simply gave him more empathy for the downtrodden.

“Which is what you did Solae,” he assured the marqessa earnestly.

“You risked your life, more than your life, to save them. If it hadn’t been for you drawing them away the Stars know how many Syshin would be dead or enslaved now. Worse some of the others might have gotten away in the chaos and we would have an army here right now.” Every word he spoke was the truth, although it didn’t quite convey the whole story.

“I’ll trade a few bumps and bruises for that any day,” he paused considering his next words carefully.

“For a long time after… after I joined, I wished that they would assign me to combat,” he admitted. It felt like he was confessing a weakness which made him uncomfortable.

“I guess I hoped that… well you know, I could die gloriously on the field of battle,” he went on. It came out in a rush, an embarrassing, almost childish thing to admit to, but again the the truth. Unfortunately the marines made sure his assignments were in peaceful backwaters, no one wanted a disgraced aristocrat to have a chance to gain martial glory. Such men had led rebellions in the past, he was probably lucky he hadn’t gone out an airlock some dark night just to be sure.

“I don’t want that anymore Solae. I care for you.  I want to live to get you to safety. The fact that you were willing to risk worse than death makes you special. To these people and to me,” he fell silent, wishing that all the oratorical lessons he had been forced to endure were of more use to him when he really needed them. To the void with it, sometimes clever words were no substitute for the truth.